THE DESTINY OF SKYWALKER: Episode IX Ending Reimagined (REYLO)
by ShadowverseJC
Summary: I know why you're here. JJ really screwed up, huh? And Kathleen Kennedy, and every other nerf-herder at Disney and Lucasfilm. What was the point of this whole trilogy again? That's where I come in.
1. The Rise of Skywalker

_**EXEGOL**_

Ben was running. Running, running, running as the sweat limped off his arms and face. Running through the darkness, which pervaded everywhere. But like many times before, the darkness was almost physical. But unlike those times, its strength was impossibly strong. The Dark Side was truly everywhere in this place, and it crept outward like an unstoppable slug.

He knew she would've known what to do—that Force bond just saved his life. He _almost_ started laughing, but scolded himself for nearly falling for that temptation. Yet, he really couldn't help it—everything she did made him smile. He could barely keep focus each time they had fought before. Even being in her presence made his heart jackhammer to the point he thought faintness overtook him. Except for when she cut off a piece of his face. Not the finest moment by any stretch. He would always hold a grudge for that. Especially when his kids ask, "Dad, who gave you that?"

"Oh, your mother," he mumbled, still sprinting through and towards Rey's location. He was getting _way_ too ahead of himself.

_Priorities, Ben, priorities, _he thought. Sometimes—well, more like all the time—he wondered why he loved her. And that he did, she just didn't know or hear him say it. Yet. She was a scavenger, truly a nothing from nowhere. Maybe it was the Force. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe it was simpler than that, though. Maybe, just maybe, for the first time in his life, he met someone who was also alone. Someone who needed another to make life bearable. It was all very poetic.

His mind was still reeling from the conflict with his former squad, the Knights of Ren. Those savages had been working behind the scenes for the Emperor this whole time, yet he never even caught a glimpse of their machinations. And now, the end neared as the fate of the Force teetered on the edge of an abyss. If they don't succeed and destroy one of the greatest Sith of them all, those _kids_ won't even exist. If Darth Vader now apparently couldn't kill him, who could? But he had to try. Even if it meant giving up the greatest thing of all—life.

He would have to save the galaxy. When he imagined saving the entire galaxy, though, only one thing came to mind—Rey. She _was_ his galaxy. He hoped she always would be. No matter what ensued, death could never hope to separate them.

_I will finish what you started, grandfather._

After an eternity of running and jumping like a madman through the terrain of Exegol, he finally made it to the arena. Sith loyalists were everywhere, filling his ears and eyes with horror. The First Order itself was originated in various forms of evil. But this was different. It was pure evil, unlike anything he'd ever seen.

He looked around and spotted Rey in the center; just standing there, Leia's blue lightsaber blade casting a small pool of light in this dark dungeon. And there...was the Emperor. He was attached to the gigantic apparatus he had seen beforehand, flailing about like a zombie. It scared the crap out of him.

"Every master I have grown beyond is now with me," the Emperor said. "There is no escape. _I_ will not just rule the galaxy. _We all_ will!" His voice now seemed to be a multitude of voices. Darth Nihilus, Vitiate, Maul, Malgus, Bane, Plageuis, Exar Kun—the Dark Lords of the Sith from eons past all sounded their victory.

"The Force is not with you, grandfather!" Rey retorted.

He laughed, drawing it out so that it echoed everywhere. "Young fool..._good_. Come and witness the full power of the _Dark Side_!"

Ben walked up and stood inside the arena. Rey noticed the commotion and looked. She smiled. Not a big smile, just a slight grin. He was overcome with joy. She had never smiled at him before.

Suddenly, he was hit by a truck of courage. He would kill Sheev Palpatine if it was the last thing he did. If only to see her smile one more time. Glaring at Sidious, the newly-reborn Ben Solo stepped next to Rey, wielding the lightsaber of legacy, the saber used by Luke Skywalker and his father before him—Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One.

"Your coming together will be your undoing," the Emperor said. "You will not stop me. I spent years planning. I destroyed the Jedi. Now, I will destroy you."

"'You'?" Rey snapped. "You won't kill _me_. You will have to kill _us_."

Ben glanced at her and smiled. The time was at hand.

Out of nowhere, Palpatine shot his hands forward and ripped a translucent mist from both Ben and Rey's bodies. He had sucked something out of them. Something Ben knew he took. Something that horrified him. Years ago, he read the stories of all the powers the Dark Side lords possessed—one of them being life force manipulation. It's how this very Palpatine kept his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, alive after a quick dip in the fires of Mustafar. In doing so, he took the life of his grandmother, Padme Amidala.

"The life force..." the Emperor muttered, almost astonished. He sneered with the smile of a devil and repeated the prior motion. Kylo and Rey were frozen by an unparalleled Force power as their very life left them and instead served the Emperor. His face began to brighten, his fingers reform, and soon enough, he fell to a knee. He felt more alive than ever—like he was back in the game. He dropped Rey and Ben to the unforgiving, cold ground.

Ben looked to Rey. She was unconscious. He shifted and glared at the Emperor, who slowly stood up. When they locked eye contact, Ben discovered a terrible truth: His eyes were now reddish-orange. The color of the Sith.

"No!" Ben shouted, mustering every ounce of strength to at least _stand up _to this monster in the Force. To pose a threat. To do something.

"Vader betrayed me," Palpatine said. "So I will start off by destroying the last Skywalker!" He telekinetically lifted Ben into the air once more. "I am your _Emperor_." He thrust Ben away and he fell into a pit deemed no bottom.

The reborn Darth Sidious sat on the throne. The ceiling began to part, displaying the vast fleets from everywhere in the galaxy consumed in an absolute spectacle of war.

Rey began to awaken and turned over. She groaned and looked to her grandfather, who pointed his fingers upward. What followed was a deep moan from the very Force itself, letting out an expulsion of Force lightning previously undreamed of straight into the sky, where it branched off like a thunderstorm. The fleets shorted out and began to go deadstick.

Horrified but powerless, Rey inched up. "Be with me," she choked. "Be with me."

"There is no one coming to help you," Palpatine growled. "No one will be with you. No one is coming, just like no one came to save your parents. Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy! And we shall have...peace. And this time, there is no Vader, no _Skywalker_ to stop us."

She connected to the Force, her rage rising. The Skywalker lightsaber lifted off the ground in front of her. On one knee, she reached out to grab it. But it flew right past her and into the outstretched hand of someone, or something, else.

A slightly glowing, blurry figure stepped into an iota of light. Igniting the lightsaber, it began to walk forward. She squinted.

The figure's features were now apparent. It wore long, Jedi robes and boasted long, wavy hair. Yet, she had no clue who he was.

"I believe you're in need of my assistance," he said. "I will be with you, Rey. Because I am all you need. And it's time I finish this. I will finish what _I_ started."

Just then, Ben Solo crept out of the pit...somehow. He pushed himself up onto the ground that was riddled with energy and a nightmarish cyan glow. His eyes widened when he made out some kind of Force ghost.

The ghost turned around and smiled at him. "This was never your destiny, Ben! This is _mine_. I will balance the Force forever. One last time. Not as Vader, as Anakin Skywalker...the Chosen One."


	2. The Day of Skywalker

_**EXEGOL**_

Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, walked past a stunned Rey, unafraid. He appeared in total peace. He was only focused on one thing: his breakthrough.

Sidious and his former apprentice Anakin scowled at each other. The arena dove into a canyon of silence. The Force lightning ceased.

"You..." Palpatine uttered. "The failed apprentice. The days of Skywalker are over. There is no more hope. I have decimated my enemies. The Republic is no more, the Rebellion is vanishing, and the final word in the story of Skywalker is now written."

Anakin huffed. "Amazing. Every word you just said...is wrong. The Republic is reborn today. The Rebellion is winning. The story of Skywalker is only just _being_ written."

"You will never win."

"It's good you chose an arena for this," Anakin retorted. "Everyone can see me destroy you. I am with the Force and the Force is with me."

The Emperor laughed in a sinister tone, standing up from his enormous throne. "No...no..._no_! _You_ will die!" He shot a blitz of lightning at Anakin, who blocked it with the lightsaber.

Rey tried to creep away as waves of Force energy emanated from Palpatine and Anakin. She crept nearer to Ben Solo, who was on the floor, barely watching the spectacle.

"You cannot stop me this time, Skywalker!" the Emperor roared. "I have become more powerful than any Sith, or any Jedi. I am _all_ the Sith!" He sent a vast surge of Force energy towards Anakin, but the latter pushed back with an equal measure.

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm not a Jedi either," Anakin replied through the torrents of Force energy the Emperor threw his way. "I am simply the balance. I am the Force."

"And_ I _am the _full power _of the Dark Side!" Sidious retorted. He created a blaze of Force fire that burned a demonic blue. Pushed by an invisible wind, it surrounded Anakin in a tornado of fire as he held it steady with his outstretched hand. But even he was losing the battle. It inched closer to his form with every passing moment. Was he strong enough?

He was losing. To add to the problems, the tornado birthed Force lightning as the Emperor's laughs howled in the background.

"Forever will you be weaker than I! Always the servant, always the _slave_, Skywalker!" His laugh boomed all the more. Anakin grunted. It was seeming like too much. The Dark Side might just prevail. Was the prophecy wrong?

Out of nowhere, Rey, wielding Leia's lightsaber, jumped down onto the Emperor in hopes of landing a strike. Luckily, he noticed this and focused his other arm onto freezing her in place mid-air. "Pathetic!" he spat. He formed a single bolt of lightning that rammed into her from behind. It sent her flying through the air, tumbling across the arena floor. She landed several feet from Ben, totally motionless.

The simple distraction was exactly what Anakin needed. Rey might've just saved the day. The powers of the Emperor dialed down just enough for Anakin to counter. He lifted up both arms, sending forth a wave of the Force. It shoved the tornadic fire and lightning away on all sides as the ground shook. Igniting his lightsaber, Anakin jumped straight through the blazing wall and into Palpatine, who retaliated with a fierce fury of lightning.

Blocking it with the lightsaber at the last second, the attack startled Anakin and pushed him away. But he wouldn't back down. He channeled every ounce of the Force possible, slowly making his way to the Emperor. Inch by inch, one foot ahead of the other, he gained ground on the Emperor. The distance between them lessened to only a body's length.

"I...will...destroy...you!" the Emperor roared. "The Sith have returned! Our day is only just rising!"

"No, never again," Anakin retorted. "_Our _day is only just rising. I was wrong to ever believe you and fall to the darkness. It's ironic! You unwittingly created me all those years ago. So really, you, Sheev Palpatine, destroyed yourself."

"No!" he boomed. His voice was shaky now.

Anakin was very close now, the Skywalker lightsaber holding true against the onslaught of the Dark Side. The lightning shortened. The power began to dwindle. The conflict was coming to a head.

"Goodbye, Master," Anakin whispered. He felt like it was destiny. The full power of the Force surged from him, cutting into the Emperor as his own lightning struck his face. The hood of Darth Sidious was ripped off. Soon, skin followed, blowing away like sand.

"No!" was the final word the Emperor uttered before falling into dust. There was an ear-splitting, blinding explosion of light as the arena crumbled onto the thousands of Sith loyalists in its stands.

A few minutes passed. Each one elongated into an eternity. Ben's ears were ringing. He feared this was the end.

The light of day began to enter his eyelids as the war above began to subside. Was the Rebellion winning?

His hearing began to return to normalcy. Then, he remembered what had occurred.

_Rey._

He jumped up and looked everywhere. The arena was razed to mere ashes, the Emperor was destroyed, and Anakin had vanished.

A short distance away lay Rey. Her robes were charred with electricity. He stumbled over to her and fell beside her body. He looked around again for anything, anyone to help.

Gathering her in his arms, he glanced around for the hundredth time. Helpless, he looked into her closed eyes. Was she alive?

He hugged Rey tightly. Her head rested on his shoulder as tears began to fill his eyes.

Then he finally got a bright idea. _Check her pulse. _He pressed his ear onto her chest, listening for even the faintest beat.

He heard it. He felt it. But something was wrong. It was erratic. At the same time, he felt liquid on the hand that steadied her back.

Shifting his weight, he discovered blood—and a coin-sized hole. She had been stabbed with Palpatine's lightning.

He swallowed deep. It couldn't end like this. He wouldn't allow it. They had come this far. He'd rather die a thousand lives than live without her for only one more day. He was done being Kylo Ren. He truly had eaten his own words and let the past _die_.

Channeling the Force, he placed his hand on the gaping wound. Nothing. He kept trying, focusing everything within upon her frame. Now he felt something. A power. A Force. Its peaceful, wondrous aura ran through him and into her.

_Be with me, Rey_._ Be with me_.

**See Lucasfilm, Disney? All you nerf-herders? It actually isn't that difficult to write a good ending.**

**Next part should be either tomorrow or Sunday. May the Force be with you!**


	3. The Destiny of Skywalker

_**EXEGOL**_

On his knees, cradling a fading Rey in his arms, Ben Solo was perfectly motionless. His eyes were closed, his demeanor as far from Kylo Ren as one side of the galaxy is from the other. This was the moment of truth. If she did not survive, he would simply kill himself. There was no other reason to live. The New Republic would despise him and likely execute him for all the evils he committed—all the destruction and death he had caused.

His hand still clamped over her wound, he shifted once more and hugged her again. He finally had someone to hold onto. The mist and ashes of the environment wept with him as the booms and explosions of falling ships enclosed Rey and Ben. It was as if a dam had been broken. He simply couldn't hold back the torrents of tears anymore as he cried into her shoulder. What if it was all a nightmare? A long, brutal nightmare? What if he wakes up back in Luke's Jedi Temple, and all of this was a neat trick his brain pulled to entertain him? Perhaps he had read about his grandfather's dark side too much. He possessed that _tendency_ to want to be anyone other than what his parents wanted.

The emotion he expelled created a stronger connection to the Force than he ever could have imagined. He felt a strange stretching sensation where the mortal gash lay.

Before he had enough time to question this, Rey twitched once. He didn't move a muscle. All sorts of fears rampaged through his mind. But he took the brute force of each. He was used to it, anyway.

As the two were well-nigh wrapped around each other, she jittered again. Without warning, life began to stir. Hands and fingers stretched around his rib cage and gripped tightly.

There was a cough. Another. At this point, Ben couldn't give a damn. He eased out of the embrace, his blood pressure spiking.

"Rey...?" he asked, almost stuttering over himself. He steadied her neck with his hand.

She seemed delirious and spaced out. Half-shut, her eyes rolled back and forth. "Is this...real?" she asked.

He huffed a laugh but tried with every pound of his leftover emotional being to maintain composure. "I'm not sure."

Her head rotated in his palm. "Where is everyone? What—What happened?"

_What didn't happen?_ he thought.

"We won."

"_We_?" she groaned. "Who are you?" The question speared his very soul. As quickly as it had left Rey's lips, her eyes widened as if infused with life. "_Ben_?"

He nodded his head ever so slightly and gulped. She remembered his name—the name he spent most of his life running from. That's a win, right?

She gazed into his eyes like how he literally always did. There was something more this time. She didn't see fear, pain, and confusion swirling within them.

The sky began to clear, the darkness of the Sith dissipating. The parent star of Exegol rose behind Ben's head, its heavenly rays spreading outward behind the messy mop of hair. It was as if the Force spoke to Rey through the angelic portrait before her. The light was rising on the Skywalker family. The night scurried away, darkness forever out of reach. Well, at least for the foreseeable future.

She leaned forward and began to close the distance. Taking it all in, she brushed her fingers over his face to make sure he was physical. He smiled, one hand crawling around her waist. His eyes were like green lights. The fire in her stomach wouldn't be quenched, so she gave in.

Without a second thought, Rey attacked his lips. She was sick of waiting. And to be honest, he was too.

But he didn't retaliate. It was a beautiful feeling. Time stopped, the noises above muted just for this one moment. For Ben, it was a long time coming. It felt like destiny. Like the Force had willed this _thing_ from the beginning. And who could fight_ that_?

She seemed to pour every last drop of affection into the kiss, lasting several seconds as he matched her intensity. He maintained control, though. He wouldn't let the chaos of his emotions control him anymore. That died with Kylo Ren.

Neither wanted to pull away, but after everything they'd been through, dying from a lack of oxygen would be the worst ending_ ever_. Plus, there'd be time for more.

When she did, Rey smiled. Happiness oozed out of her in a way she never felt. It was wonderful.

Ben swore he never saw such a toothy smile. But it was a full blown smile—the first in a long line. Hers forced him to match it.

In all her encounters with Kylo, she never imagined he'd boast such a heartwarming expression. Well, she kind of did. But not like this. His smile made her tingle all over. It was ridiculous.

"Be with me," Ben finally said, his voice full of tremors. He paused, much like how he did when lent her his hand in Snoke's Throne Room. "Please."

"Well, I must be the worst master in the history of the Jedi," a voice said. Rey jumped to a standing position, which shoved Ben off-balance and onto the ground. "It looks like you fell for the pair of pretty eyes. You know, my life was doing pretty well until I got you two students. Doing everything opposite I taught you."

Rey giggled. "Master Skywalker?" she asked. "Is it you?"

The blue-haloed figure smiled. "Yes, Rey."

Ben coughed a laugh and stood up, his long-sleeved shirt sopping wet. "Luke."

"Hello, Ben."

The fact _the_ Luke Skywalker now talked and moved in front of him didn't haunt him as it once did. He was almost...glad.

"I'm sorry," Ben said. "I'm sorry. F-For everything."

"It was all me, nephew," Luke said, waving him off. "But the Force will always have its way, just as it had its way with my destiny. He approached Ben, who took a step back. He wasn't used to this. "I never realized you were destined for such great things. That's how I failed you. You can't hold back the Cosmic Force. My fear is the reason for all this." He turned to Rey. "But overcoming fear is the destiny of a Jedi."

Gulping once more, Ben nodded but said nothing.

"Looks like I was right after all," Rey said, winking at Luke. "There was good in him."

Luke nodded and pursed his lips. "I am what you grow beyond. I didn't trust you. I didn't trust in the Force."

Out of nowhere, there was a blinding pulse of light. A shadow appeared to walk to them as its brightness faded.

"It wouldn't be the first time, my son," the figure called. It was Anakin Skywalker. He looked...older. Wrinkles and a long gray beard.

"It appears you fulfilled the prophecy, father," Luke replied.

Anakin stepped next to his son, his robes flowing in the cooling breeze. "The fight is now over. Balance has been restored."

Ben and Rey both stared. He had saved them. The grandson of Anakin Skywalker couldn't believe his eyes. This was the man he worshiped?

"Grandfather?" he asked.

"Ben Solo," Anakin answered. "I really hated it that you kept Vader's helmet. But the past is the past—let it die, remember?"

He shook profusely. "I looked up to you...for so long. Why did you not intervene? Why did you let become who I was?"

Anakin looked him straight in the eyes, as if peering into his very soul. "Unlike my son here, I knew what the Force desired. What it sets into motion, no man, no Sith, no Jedi can stop. It rules all, decides all, _is _all. That is why, my grandson."

"And Palpatine?" Rey asked.

He grinned. "I couldn't have beaten him without you, Rey. I know the Skywalker lineage is safe with you." She blushed, but he continued. "Come here, Ben. Walk with Luke and I."

_**ONE HOUR LATER**_

Rey ran through the vast fleet of ships that landed on the surface of Exegol. When she found Poe and Finn, she ran to them like a bat out of Hell.

"_Rey_!" Finn shouted. BB8 rolled over behind Poe, who almost tripped over the excited droid.

"Poe! Finn!" They embraced each other, Finn almost tackling Rey to the ground.

"You are a difficult woman," Poe joked.

"I know," she replied. They remained in the three-sided hug for around a minute, savoring the feeling. They had won. The galaxy rose up, thanks to the spectacular work of Lando and Chewie. The Sith Fleet, the First Order, the Final Order—whatever stupid name the Emperor dubbed it—had been annihilated by the sheer will of _people_.

Their foreheads nearly touching, Rey said, "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Poe asked.

She gulped. "I—"

"Rey!" a voice called out. Finn recognized it immediately, as did Poe.

They all turned to see Ben Solo waiting on the smooth, trap door steps of the_ Millennium Falcon._

Poe began to advance with anger, as did Finn. "What the hell is he doing here?!" Poe cried.

"No, wait, stop!" Rey commanded. She scurried around them to block their path. "It is all right. That is Ben Solo."

"Well around here, he's known as Kylo Ren," Poe retorted, glaring his way. He was surprised to find that Ben did not scowl back. He just looked to the ground.

"I'm going away for a little while, my friends," Rey stated.

"With_ him_?!" Finn retorted. His jaw dropped to the floor.

She nodded.

"I'm going away. It is the will of the Force. He's changed. We're about to start anew. This is the destiny of the Skywalkers."

Finn calmed down a bit while Poe locked onto Ben's form, which walked back into his father's ship.

His expression deep in seriousness, Finn gave Rey a long and hard look. "Do you trust him?"

She nodded again. "With my life."

"Where will you be going?" Poe questioned, furrowing his brow.

"Nowhere too far to come back," Rey answered. "We will see each other again. I promise."

She hugged them both and walked away, not looking back. Stunned, they followed her figure until it disappeared inside the _Falcon_.

As the celebration kicked off across the tens of thousands of light-years of space, Han Solo's prized ship, the champion of the Kessel Run, ignited its engines. The blue glow pushed the ship up and away with a ground-shaking _boom_.

Once outside Exegol's gravitational grasp, Rey turned to Ben, who looked out at the ocean of stars and the expanse of the universe. He never found time to notice its beauty until now.

"What did Anakin and Luke tell you?"

Ben stayed quiet, then smiled. He looked to her. "I'll tell you...one day. I promise." He gazed with those irresistible, hungry eyes. "For now, just be with me."

He reached out his hand. She reciprocated, her fingers dwarfed by his own.

"Where will we go?" Rey asked, smiling like an idiot.

"Wherever you _feel_. Do what you have done all this time, Rey. You trusted me. So now, trust in the Force."

Their hands interlocked, Rey and Ben pressed the buttons to jump into hyperspace. The stars stretched infinitely as light burst into the cockpit. And for the first time, he didn't have any idea where he was going, and neither did she. A new destiny burned bright on their horizon. At long last, the destiny of the Skywalker lineage was trusted to the Force.

As the ship made the jump, Ben heard a voice whisper to him. He didn't recognize it, but something felt so _right_ about it. Its words were straightforward and uncomplicated, and sounded just as the ship blasted forward and into the wide-open expanse of space.

_My namesake, the Force will be with you. Always._


End file.
